Nick G‘s model of the Russian T-90MS main battle tank looks armed and ready to blow the LEGO battlefield to bits. All the subtle shapes and lines in Nick’s replica are true to the real tank; a challenge to accomplish at his chosen scale. On top of that, the builder mentions it features a working suspension system.
I’m more impressed with his variant of the same build with added ERA (Explosive Reactive Armor). Smart use of gold ingots in light gray to show the separation of ERA panels.
This build was inspired by a small child asking how Santa managed to get all over the world in one evening. I figured he’d need something a bit beefier than a team of flying ungulates…
I build a Christmas-themed LEGO creation every year as part of our decorations, but am generally too busy to get it photographed and posted during the run up, and it never feels appropriate after the day itself. However, I managed to grab some time today to get a photo and I thought I’d post it here to wish you all a happy holiday season.
Relax, eat too much, have a few drinks, and maybe build some stuff. That’s what I’ll be doing.
Every talanted builder has his or her own particular style of bulding and presentation. And the longer you follow your favorite authors, the more recognizable their styles become. But then there are collaborations. And what I love the most about them is the fact that you can never predict the result. And this time Sunder_59 brings us an amazingly executed digital render of SiMaI7’s (Kirill Simerzin) latest T-72A military tank. You should already know Sunder_59 as we mentioned a couple of his renders not so long ago. Personally I’m rather apathetic towards digital building, but the quality of this rendering is outstanding. And don’t hesitate to examine the model online.
I’ve made a huge, tiny mistake. You see, back when I was purchasing these LEGO Creator Sets, I just dumped out the contents and threw those cheesy containers straight into the recycling bin. I didn’t even think twice about it. But F@bz on the other hand, sensibly squirreled them away for safe keeping. And take a look at this! Who knew those containers could look so perfect? (F@bz did, that’s who.)
With spot-on sticker use and just the right amount of color, texture, and playability, this truck is a beauty to behold. In addition to the insane NPU (“nice parts usage”), I particularly like the ladder, wheels, and the entire front end. Be sure to check out all of the photos here and remember, every LEGO piece has potential.
Kyle (BermudaFreze) returns to the fray with this space fighter which manages to be both elegant and brutish at the same time. The focus here seems to be a hell of a lot of missiles which are both cleverly shaped and stowed away in pods on the sides of the craft.
This microscale spaceship by Emperor Lugdonious has a nice chunky retro feel to it. However, it was the composition of the photography which really caught my attention. The red and grey starship floats in the darkness of space, holding station above a distant blue planet as a shuttle craft prepares to dock.
The whole thing reminds me of classic sci-fi TV from the 70s and 80s – in a good way. The color choices are smart, and there’s a real sense of depth and scale. But overall I think it’s the tiny shuttle which makes the scene. I can’t help creating stories in my head when I look at it: Who’s on board the shuttle? Where did they come from? Where are they going?
There’s enough detail here to create a sense of reality, of activity both within and beyond the still image. For me, the prompting of these kinds of thoughts is the mark of a good model. I like this a lot.
I’m loving this neat microspace build by Chris Perron. The careful selection of pearl gold parts adds some excellent texture and detail at this scale, and the light blue cockpit sets it off brilliantly. All in all this is just a classy little build.
In the future imagined by Polish builder Jerac, the younger generation cruise around in yellow hovercrafts while the ‘dad-taxi’ family car looks a little bit cooler than your average Toyota.
Firstly, we have the Aeris, the 4-person family car for collecting the groceries and taking the kids to the movies. Even Jerac has to admit that this is “slightly more luxurious” than the average family car (they must be from the nicer side of the City). Honestly, I’m not trying to sell you this car, but take a look at the rear – the building techniques used are fantastic!
Next, we have the Athame, a hovercraft aimed at the cool kids who yearn for a sportier, faster, more eye-catching ride. This hovercraft has the added adrenaline rush of a transparent floor – definitely not for the feint-hearted. I love the shaping of the front, very nice curves.
Sadly, the exuberance of youth means that the Athame is sometimes exposed to more ‘aggressive driving manoeuvres’ and the resulting vehicle breakdown requires a futuristic rescue truck. Here we have the Cobbergoot Hoverlift-3. The Hovlift-3 has a great extendable lift at the back, to cater for even the largest of future hovercrafts, and collapses neatly to allow a more streamlined look when not it use.
Despite being a (relative) ‘youth’, I think I will stick with the luxurious Aeris as my future car. That transparent floor on the Athame is just too much excitement for me…
Since mid-October I have had a pretty crazy time at work, very much at the expense of my blogging and pretty much everything else. I have built a few things, but I told my fellow contributors that I would only write something if it knocked my socks off. Well, consider me barefoot. The culprit is Swiss builder Beat Felber and his AR-1200M Mobile Crane. Tadano is a Japanese manufacturer of cranes and the model carries a Japanese livery, of the Showa Co., Ltd. of Kobe. This already makes it a bit more interesting than your average Liebherr. Furthermore, as you would expect from a builder who goes by the name Engineering with ABS, his model is full of working features.
It uses Power functions for the drive, for steering on all five axles and to extend the stabilisers on both sides, with pneumatics used to raise and lower the struts. The crane boom can be raised, slewed and extended using Power Functions and, of course, the winches are remote-controlled. It also has working lights. The boom reaches a height of 2.15 m (more than 7 ft.) and can be extended even further by adding a separate jib. This is not the tallest crane we’ve ever blogged, but size is not everything. It is gorgeous.
Some people might accuse me of posting too many selfishly nostalgic LEGO creations. Like that time last month, remember that? Ah man, those were some good times. Good times. Anyway, time to repeat the sin with this rather splendid mining scale recreation of a favorite toy from my childhood, the Raider Command from Matchbox’s 1978 line of futuristic Adventure 2000 vehicles.
Due to a limited selection of parts in olive green, French builder Eric Druon actually had to recreate this in tan (and then apply a little harmless Photoshop magic). I was lucky enough to own a few of these beauties back in the day. And I am embarrassed to say that – thanks to the power of eBay – I have been able to enjoy them all over again, albeit “mint in box”!
When you have to get around town to beat up costumed criminals, it’s important to do so with style. And technique. And size. All of these can be found in the latest creation by Hansan Kabalak, who has painstakingly recreated in epic scale the unique vehicle from the latest Batman game, Batman: Arkham Knight.
Larger than Lego’s own USC Tumbler, this Batmobile features functionality and loads of complex angles. Hansan went all out: adding his own custom decals, colored parts, and even a few custom pieces to his creation to make it as faithful to the game as possible. Best of all, Hansan even took the time to design his Batmobile with its signature feature: attack mode.
Our Pimp Rey’s Speeder contest now has over 100 entries! Thank you to everyone who has entered so far, we’re getting a real kick out of seeing all your crazy designs. Movies and TV still seem to be popular themes for speeder pimping. But as you can see below, we’ve also seen a lot of entries based on famous LEGO set themes. Get your entries in soon – you only have a 2 more weeks!
Benny’s Speeder by John Kupitz
Galaxy Force Buggoid Speeder by tankm
Octan Speeder by Timmy’s Bricks
Cinderella’s Speeder by Paddy Bricksplitter
